08 July, 2008

When the Chinese introduced their cuisine into India, little did they would have expected to see that the ever-adapting Indian would re-invent some of their most time-tested recipes to suit the sub-continental palate. Yes, I am talking of Indo-Chinese food. I can see the surprised look at my non-Indian blogger friends. What the heck is Indo-Chinese cuisine? Well my friends first let me give you a brief history lesson on Indo-Chinese food which is one of the most favoured type of cuisine in India.

Indo-Chinese cuisine is believed to have originated with the Chinese migrants who settled in one of the metropolitan cities of India, Calcutta or currently known as Kolkata. India has one Chinatown, Tangra in Calcutta and the Chinese have been living there for more than a century. It is believed that over a century the food is adapted to suit local ingredients and adjusting the flavours to reflect the local palate. So my friends, in simple words Indo-Chinese cuisine are adaptation of Chinese seasonings and cooking techniques to Indian taste and in my opinion one of the best cultural remix.

Indo-Chinese food sells like one hot potato in every nook and corner of any city and towns. Don’t be surprised to see small wooden push carts painted with funny looking dragons with fire coming out of their mouth or the bamboo trees selling Indo-Chinese food. You can never miss the irresistible smell of cooking garlic, onions and chillies which will grab your attention even from 500 meters distance and you will be drawn to these carts with sudden hunger pangs. Price-wise the food is dirt cheap for a plate of very filling and utterly delicious Indo-Chinese food. If you are backing away from eating this fusion food at roadside carts due to hygiene concern then fret not. Most of the small and big restaurant in India has Indo-Chinese food on their menu and even star hotels have their share. But in my opinion the best Indo-Chinese food I have ever tasted are from these roadside stalls which are not just tasty and cheap but real fun to eat.

And the best part is it is really quick and easy to cook. Now you really don’t have to make a trip to India just to eat this delicacy;) It requires very few ingredients and almost all these ingredients can be found in any grocery store or supermarkets. Indo-Chinese food is a bachelor friendly recipe as its super easy and super quick and super tasty. Today I am sharing two of my favourite Indo-Chinese food; Tofu & Vegetable Fried Rice with Vegetables in Sweet and Sour Sauce. Packed with colourful vegetables, these recipes are very easy to make as they are simply stir fried for few mins. This way they not just retain their crunch but also their nutrition. As you can see, you can use any type of vegetables of your choice and there is no way you can go wrong with these recipes. Off these two dishes go to DK’s AWED-Chinese and Mansi’s Healthy Cookingevents. Mansi, you can’t deny the fact that these are really healthy ones. Well, look at the number of vegetables used and the way they are cooked ;) This is also my entry for WBB-Summer Feast hosted by me where I have used many Summer vegetables and it serves as the wonderful weekend brunch.

Heat 1 tbsp of Oil in a wok on medium to high heat. When hot add tofu and brown them from all sides. This way you have firm tofu which will not get crushing during frying process. Drain them and keep them aside. If not using Tofu you can omit this step.Now heat another tbsp of oil at medium to high flame and add finely chopped garlic and ginger. Stir for around 15 seconds until fragrant. Add chopped onions and slit green chilli and sauté it for a minute or two till onions turns translucent.Turn the heat to high and mix in vegetables, one type at a time, in order of what takes longest to cook. Add Soya sauce and sugar to bring out the flavour and keep sautéing for around 3-4 mins until the vegetables are half a way cooked but still retain their crunch.Add cooked, cooled rice, salt and pepper to taste and tofu pieces and sauté it for a minute or two till each rice grain is heated through.

Colourful vegetables are stir fried and then cooked in thick sauce of garlic, red chilli paste and soya sauce with a hint of sweetness from brown sugar and pineapple pieces. This delicious mixed Vegetables in Sweet and Sour Sauce is sure to win your and your loved ones hearts. Serve it with simple Fried Rice or Noodles to make one delicious meal.

Heat oil in a wok at medium to high flame and when hot add chopped ginger and garlic. Sauté it for 15 seconds till fragrant and then add finely chopped green chilli and red onion and sauté it for a minute till onion turns translucent.Increase the heat to high and start adding vegetables, one type at a time, in order of what takes longest to cook. Sauté it on high flame continuously for 3-4 mins till they are half a way cooked through. Mix in tomato ketchup, Soya sauce, teriyaki sauce, brown sugar and red chilli paste. Keep stirring for another 30 seconds or so.Now add water till all the vegetables are just cover. Mix in pineapple pieces, salt and pepper to taste and cook for a minute or so. Slowly add corn flour paste to the pot, stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed. Keep stirring the sauce till it starts to thicken and reduce the heat to medium. Once the sauce is thick enough, switch off the flame and gently mixes in lime juice, bean sprouts and half of spring onion greens.Serve this delicious Vegetable in Sweet and Sour Sauce garnished with remaining spring onion greens with Vegetable Fried Rice and enjoy.

For this edition of WBB, your challenge is to cook anything with summer fruits and vegetables. Yes, the theme is WBB-Summer Feast. Go to your town/city’s Farmer’s Market and pick fresh season’s produce and make your favourite breakfast or brunch and join in the Summer Feast.

Deadline: 31st July, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry, Perm Link of original recipe along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

47 comments
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YUMMO! Love the sauce and so many veggies and Tofu in there, really good for you too! I love that swirly Bamboo in the photo peeking out!:)Hope you are not too busy, time to relax girl, don't work too hard. My last tomorrow, will miss you and your posts. This Summer would be very hectic very for us after that little vacation, many home improvement projects are ready to go, might get a new kitchen too! Mess and all that, not looking forward to it.Hugs to you,take care!:))

Thanks for dropping by. hmm now that you say it I started to think about what handful of curry leaves could mean to someone...the whole hand..oops.. thanks for pointing that out for me while typing handful was put my five fingers in the dabba and how many I can hold that many, maybe 10 to 15. Shall change it in the recipe and where ever applicable. Thank you Sia.

I really like your style of writing Sia. I was not aware of the origin of Chinese food in India until now. I prepare chinese fried rice often, actually I also add some soy nuggets in it. But the vegetable sauce is new to me. Bookmarked sia. The pictures look wonderful.

Hi Sia,hmmmm....mouth watering entry...!!!Chinese food(Veg only) is my all time favourite dish. And I just love tofu...! BTW, a fantastic presentation of the recipe. Bravo...!I must have to make this dish very soon...it's just inviting and look very yummy.Thanks Sia.Cheers,Sonu:))))

I was shocked the first time I tasted Chinese food in the US, to my total shock it was vastly different compared to the Chinses I was used to back home. Fried rice with Sweet and Sour sauce is the best ever combo in Indo-Chinese.

Sia,Kolkatas Tangra is one place where roadside eateries are always packed, with Thukpa ,Momos and all noodles variety , visit any morning and the Breakfast is a pleasure there ..Loved , Loved the recipes so colorful and Mouth-watering , In fact the veggies cooked in sweet and sour sauce is making me hungry ...hugs and smilesjaya

Oh my god,The indo chinese cusine looks awesome and u have presented it in a fantastic way.Nice clicks and the sauce seems to be delectable with a great blend of condiments.I have bookmarked and eager to try out soon.I feel i crave more for Indian version of chinese even though staying in the land of authentic chinese cusine.

i must have missed so many dishes to enjoy if indo -chinese cuisine is not invented :D. And i remember enjoying some of such dishes on a road side cart named "China town " where I used to stay in my college days...above all the wonderful tasty dishes , they made it so quick and even cheap too- was perfect options to save our pocket money ha ha ha...

both the dishes here are literally killing me Supriya and I curse you for that unless you choose to migrate to live next door to me :D.... p.s-- i realized the mistake i did in last post , i got to get some break from this computer screen now :D dont tell anyone what i wrote sssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....;)

i wish we could transfer food thru net,not just the recipes....The world wud be so yummy to live in ,that way.Imagine we all passing on such gorgeous looking,amazingly made and heavenly tasting food ,to each other on daily basis....what a delicious idea!The presentation is to die for...literally,and i m sure it must had tasted equally good

Is it as yummy as it looks? It must be so difficult to judge which is better - the taste or the presentation. Wonderful entry Sia and thanks for sending it my way. And yes I will be waiting with gaping mouth at more entries from ur end :)

Namaste! I am Sia and welcome to Monsoon Spice, my virtual home. Thank you for all your comments, inputs and feedback. I really appreciate the valuable time you spent browsing through my recipe repertoire.

I hope you have found what you are looking for today. Feel free to leave any questions or queries you have on the recipes posted here. If you have any recipe requests, please drop a line at Ask Sia page. I will try to respond to all your queries as soon as possible to best of my knowledge.

I welcome all your valuable inputs and constructive criticism as long as it is meant to help and improve the blog. I reserve the right to delete any comments that are rude, abusive, written with the intent to advertise, contain profanity or considered spam.

I hope that you will stop by again to read my rants, learn new recipes and share your ideas. Have a good look around and enjoy your time here. Thank you once again!

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About Sia

Born in India and raised in fun and food loving family, I currently reside in UK with my better half and my two babies, five years old son and nine years old food blog. My cooking style has strong root in Indian culture and at the same time embraces the world cuisine with equal passion. With never ending love for food, spice and life, I am passionate about cooking and making Indian food less intimidating, healthy and easy to cook which reflects in my blog Monsoon Spice which has been ranked one among Top Indian food blogs. Read more…

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